With School Book Fairs Hobbit Hall 'Steps Out of the Box'

Kim Dickie, the new owner of Hobbit Hall Children's Bookstore in Roswell, Georgia, sees plenty of room for growth in an arena small booksellers have largely left to others -- school book fairs. When Dickie took over the reins of the 12-year-old bookstore from Anne Ginkle in March 2003, the school book fair division was a growing component of the store.

"It was started three years ago," Dickie told BTW, "and in that time, it went from three fairs annually up to 50. Mostly [the school book fair division] has been publicized through word of mouth. Teachers and parents have shopped in the store and requested it. I want to continue to grow the book fair division. I hope to double the number of fairs from 50 to 100 over the next two years." Dickie wants to accelerate the growth through "proactive sales and marketing."

As is usual in the school book fair business, Hobbit Hall organizes and transports the books to the school or site, sets it up, and clears everything out at the conclusion. The fairs are staffed by parent volunteers, and the school's share is calculated on a sliding scale based on total book fair sales. Hobbit Hall will then pay the percentage in free books or cash -- a very attractive feature for many schools.

Rather than providing a standard selection of books based on grade level, Hobbit Hall customizes the inventory using the school's reading lists, teacher requests, and an array of award winners, Book Sense 76 picks, new titles, and big hits. Accepting requests and offering an informed variety of books for the area is also a rarity in the book fair scene.

When Dickie and other staff approach schools and administrators, they point to the value of supporting a community institution and keeping the profits in the community. Said Dickie, "We present ourselves as a small local business -- we help create a community feel and support. We give back to the community specifically through our support of local benefits with donations and gift certificates, and strengthen the community circle."

Often, Hobbit Hall can coordinate a book fair with a school visit from a participating author or illustrator through its "Artists, Writers, and Me" component. This nonprofit division exists to improve literacy by placing authors and illustrators in schools, particularly in school systems that cannot ordinarily afford them. The program requires funding through grants, and, Dickie explained, "[Hobbit Hall is] trying to interest literacy foundations to invest in this program and fund a staff position."

Dickie has found that many schools don't realize that independent stores offer book fair services. "We are stepping out of the box as a retail independent and have a lot of added benefits. We're offering a change," Dickie said.

On August 23, Dickie is hosting a free wine and cheese event for school media specialists and librarians. Publisher's representatives will talk about their frontlist titles, and Dickie will present the advantages for educators to work with Hobbit Hall. Dickie and the store's wholesale sales manager are also calling all schools, public and private, in four or five counties around Roswell. They are also meeting with school boards and county school administrators. "We're making continual inroads, there are still many people who are not aware that we do [book fairs]. It will take some time to gain community awareness."

Dickie would also like to schedule book fairs year round, not just in the fall and spring. "We want to add a business line during the summer months," Dickie said, "We're considering sales at summer festivals, summer camps, and corporate lobby settings." -- Nomi Schwartz